The next king in our study of the kings of Israel and Judah is a young man named Joash (Jehoash). He was a good king during the first part of his 40-year reign, but then turned bad. What went wrong? He lacked personal godly character. What is character? “Character can be defined as what makes […]
We live in an age of compromise. Many Christians are taking a soft stand and leaning toward the world. The Apostle Paul wrote these helpful words to the carnal church at Corinth, (1 Corinthians 16:13) “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” Like the Corinthian believers, we must watch […]
Jehoshaphat was the son of Asa king of Judah. He was a good king and reigned for 25 years. He had one besetting sin that caused him great harm. He was a compromiser when it came to friendships. There are many lessons we can learn from his life.
Last week we studied good King Asa. During his 41 years as king of Judah, seven kings reigned in northern Israel. He began reigning at the very end of Jeroboam’s reign and died at the very beginning of Ahab’s reign. However, between Jeroboam and Ahab, five kings reigned whom I call Asa’s five bad neighbours. […]
Rehoboam’s son, Abijah was an ungodly man and only reigned as king for three years. Amazingly, Asa, his son was a good king. He must have been young when crowned king, perhaps about 20. Through a majority of his life, he kept his heart right with God and God blessed him. Toward the end of […]
Jeroboam was the first king of the northern tribes of Israel. He made a good start, but quickly turned away from God. Transition As we look at Jeroboam’s reign as king over Israel, I find three lessons for us that will keep us from failing as he failed. The first lesson for us is to […]
Rehoboam became the fourth king of Israel when he was 41 years old (1Ki 14:21). He reigned 17 years. He was the son of Solomon and Naamah who was an Ammonitess. Yes, his mother was one of Solomon’s strange wives. The Ammonites were enemies of Israel. Solomon’s marriage to Naamah must have been about two […]
Solomon, whose name means, peace, became the third king of Israel when he was just 18 or 20 years old. Though he had several older brothers, both God and his father David chose Solomon to be the third king (1Ki 1:33-36). Because Solomon loved the Lord, at his request, God gave him more wisdom than […]
David was the second king of Israel. He was the son of Jesse. He ascended the throne when he was 30 years old. He reigned as king of Israel for 40 years. Though he was a good king, he was far from perfect. He committed both adultery and murder. At the same time, we read […]
Introduce the chart of Israel’s Kings. This evening we are going to begin a journey through the pages of the Old Testament as we examine the lives of Israel’s kings. In 1096 BC, the Israelites complained to the Prophet Samuel, “Give us a king to judge us” (1Sa 8:6). They were not content to have […]